The Delhi High Court on Thursday upheld the Election Commission’s decision to allow the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam faction led by EK Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam to use the “two leaves” symbol. The High Court dismissed the petition filed by former AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran and VK Sasikala, ANI reported.

While one faction of the AIADMK is led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam, the other faction is headed by Dhinakaran. His faction is called the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam.

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A bench of Justices GS Sistani and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal on February 8 had reserved its decision on the matter after hearing arguments on behalf of the Election Commission and the two factions, PTI reported. The bench had said it would deliver the judgement within four weeks.

This came after after the Supreme Court on February 7 said the Election Commission can decide Dhinakaran’s plea for an interim poll symbol if the High Court is unable to pass a verdict within four weeks. The top court had refused to allot the pressure cooker symbol to Dhinakaran’s party, suspending the High Court’s order last year asking the poll panel to allot the symbol when Dhinakaran’s faction had not yet been named.

The High Court had passed the directive on an application by Dhinakaran in his main petition challenging an Election Commission order of November 23, 2017, which had allotted the AIADMK’s “two leaves” symbol to the group headed by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam.

Dhinakaran had then asked for the pressure cooker symbol since he had used it for the December 2017 Assembly bye-election in Chennai’s RK Nagar, which was former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s seat, and won it by more than 40,000 votes. On February 16, 2018, the Election Commission told the Delhi High Court that it was opposed to Dhinakaran’s plea because only a recognised political party can be allotted a symbol or name.